Eating paleo? Focused on increasing protein in your diet? Still love pancakes and maybe even crave them? The Birch Benders paleo pancakes are for you. They are so good its really hard to tell they are protein based versus the more traditional kind.
This Paleo Pancake and Waffle Mix from Birch Benders isa healthy alternative for your regular pancakes. This formulation is made of a blend of cassava flour, coconut flour and almond flour that is great for people who are looking for fine, natural, non-GMO pancake ingredients. The cassava root or yuca flour offers fine, macronutrient- and mineral-rich flour high in healthy prebiotic resistant starch. The cassava-root base also offers that fluffiness you often find in traditional pancake mixes. Coconut flour comes with healthy fiber, fat, and bulk that gives the pancakes a hearty texture. Meanwhile, the almond flour is high in fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals and monounsaturated omega-3 fats.
Overall, the pancake mix is high in fiber and protein, low in net carbs and naturally rich in potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, Vitamin C and Vitamin B6. These paleo pancakes get their sweetness from low-glycemic monk fruit. It only has 11 net carbs per two 4-inch pancake or waffle serving, while providing you additional 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber in your diet per serving. This aids in proper digestion and supports metabolism. What more can you ask for?
Because of its nutritious contents, this pancake and waffle mix is certified paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free and sugar-free by the Paleo Foundation. This pancake mix is compatible with paleo, ketogenic, bulletproof and Whole30 diets.
When it comes to taste, you will not believe that it’s a healthy alternative at first bite. They are tasty and delicious, just like the regular pancakes you eat, but without the added guilt. They are also filling to the stomach, so you’d end up eating less.
The Birch Benders Paleo Pancake & Waffle Mix is a just-add-water formulation, since the eggs are included in the mix. This package comes in a 12 oz. pouch that feeds a crowd. Besides the Paleo mix variant, Birch Benders also offer Gluten-Free Mix, Performance Protein Mix, Organic Classic Recipe Mix, Organic Chocolate Chip Mix and Organic Six-Grain Cinnamon Mix.
Birch Benders History
Birch Benders was founded by Matt LaCasse and his then-girlfriend (now wife) Lizzi Ackerman in 2011. One day, when LaCasse woke up and in the mood to make some pancakes, he came to realize that everything that says “just-add-water” is full of gross ingredients that are bad for you. He and Ackerman decided to do something about it. The couple, who met as students at Yale University, began experimenting with their own pancake mix. They saw that there wasn’t a lot of innovation in this area, so they ventured on to create their own better-for-the-body, just-add-water pancake and waffle mixes.
LaCasse was a math major and he was working at a farm-to-table restaurant when he and Ackerman started to work on their own pancake and waffle mixMeanwhile, Ackerman was a student of organic chemistry. Since both of them had no background in food manufacturing, they subjected their recipes to Whole Foods. After graduating from college, they moved to Colorado, got married and got cooking. They did two to three demos a day, and then kept experimenting until the flavors of their mixes delighted the tasters at Whole Foods’ court of public opinion. They also requested feedback from potential customers. “People would be brutally honest, and everything they said, we’d incorporate into [the next] iteration,” Ackerman said. The paleo pancake mix, which was created in collaboration with Whole Foods, was their 99th recipe.
The couple initially sold their products at Whole Foods stores in Denver, but now their products can be bought in more than 8,000 stores. They started from scratch, but perfected their product and mastered their branding, so they got the attention of big retailers like Target and ShopRite. Not, their revenues are now in the eight digits. The Paleo Pancake Mix was their best-selling product.
The relatively maker of premium pancake mixes is now competing with conventional pancake mix brands like Bisquick, Aunt Jemima and Krusteaz as they continued to introduce larger packaging in a competitive price point.